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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Politics

I just conducted another in a series of radio shows that I bang out weekly under the name Clean Energy Radio.

One of our “charters” is untangling the issue: If we all know that clean energy is vitally important, if it’s important to our bodily health, our financial health as a nation and to us as consumers and to the health of our planet, then why, exactly, is it so slow to make it to the scene?

My guest today was David Cobb, 2004 Green Party presidential candidate, now national spokesperson for Move To Amend, whose purpose is to create a constitutional amendment to abolish corporate personhood.

Readers who think I’m too far to the left politically may be dismayed that I had David on the show in the first place, but they will certainly be pleased to know that I asked tough questions:

  • Are you telling us that corporations are evil – or even that the majority of the those running them are bad people?
  • Their task is to make money for shareholders; I’m not sure I would call that “noble” in and of itself, but it’s certainly not “bad,” is it?
  • If a person has the right of free speech, then why doesn’t that right belong to a group of people?
  • Do you really need a constitutional amendment? What’s the matter with simply another Supreme Court judgement that refines this?
  • I can hear the passion in your voice, and that’s refreshing, given the torpor and apathy of the world. But realistically, does Move To Amend have a chance?

Interesting stuff, I believe. I’ll post a link to the show when it’s available.

　

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Fossil Fuels

Natural Gas is controversial.

Some say it is a fossil fuel with all of the inherent issues involved, and that in obtaining gas through the ‘fracking’ process, groundwater can be polluted if care isn’t taken.  Others say natural gas is plentiful in the U.S., that it burns comparatively cleaner than other fossil fuels and is less carbon-intensive. It works well in concert with renewable energy and could serve as a bridge between renewables and dirtier fossil fuels.  If one of the goals of the U.S. is to reduce imports, create jobs and become more energy secure, natural gas may have its place in the story.

The Task Force on Ensuring Stable Natural Gas Markets at the Bipartisan Policy Center  published a report on the issues. Of course, the report is somewhat biased towards natural gas though both political parties have agreed on the findings and recommendations. That says something in today’s climate. Near the end of the report, the author say,

“At a time when political and economic conditions have paralyzed much of the national-level energy policy debate, the fact that a group as diverse as the Task Force could reach consensus on these measures suggests that here is at least one important area – natural gas markets – where progress is well within reach.”

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Sustainability

Most of my business focus is on renewable energy — an arena that, if successful, could conceivably create a world in which it matters very little how much energy we consume – or even waste.  Some people say that that once all our energy comes from totally clean sources, we can use as much as we want of it with complete impunity.   But I’m constantly reminded that this is a horribly shortsighted view.

In this fantastic interview, distinguished author and professor Vaclav Smil discusses the growth in our population and the effects that this will most probably have on the sustainability of our civilization. In short, he feels that he can make no real projections, because so much depends on the rapidly changing lifestyles of the large populations in China and India. In particular, he asks:  Will they evolve to be like Americans and Canadians – or more like the Japanese?  We Westerners waste about twice as much material and energy as the Japanese, and eat more than five times as much meat.

Great talk; I hope you’ll check it out.

　

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Science

I’m really excited about our free webinar this month at 2GreenEnergy. At 1 PM EDT next Wednesday, May 18th, I’ll be interviewing senior physicist Dr. David Doty, who brings together quite a few key attributes into one package:

  • Extra-ordinarily deep understanding of the world energy scene and economic realities that put limits on potential answers
  • Great communication skills – can explain all this in a way that doesn’t make people’s eyes glaze over
  • Doesn’t leave the audience suicidal with pessimism – actually presents a credible solution

But exactly how credible is it? And how solid are his assumptions? (more…)

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Electric Vehicles

I was amused at the remarks of BMW’s spokesperson Tom Kowaleski when I talked to him two years ago about the company’s initial foray into the EV market with the Mini E. He snickered when I asked if he’d consider sponsoring the website I had recently joined as a junior partner, EVWorld.com. “Craig, I have about 800 of these cars to lease, the same year I’ll be trying to sell a thousand times that number with internal combustion engines. Where do you think my attention is?” he chuckled.

I got the joke instantly.  These guys didn’t get where they are by taking their eyes off the ball financially.  And here, it looks like BMW’s attention hasn’t moved too far in the intervening 24 months. According to Greenbeat,

“The ActiveE isn’t going directly on the market, like the Nissan Leaf or the Tesla Roadster — instead BMW will lease about 700 cars out for $500 a month over 2 years. …. BMW said the car can accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour in about 9 seconds. The Nissan Leaf, another plug-in electric car, can accelerate from 0 to 60 in about 7 seconds based on independent testing. BMW is known as a manufacturer of performance vehicles, so some critics question why the company didn’t create an electric car with more power….”

Sorry, guys, maybe I’m missing something, but it still doesn’t seem like you’re trying too hard.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Renewables - Business

As I continue to organize my new book of clean energy, it looks like I’ll be opening with a bit of history. The truth is that the struggle to control the world’s energy supply has dominated the agendas of world leaders and captains of industry for more than a century; in fact, what we see here today is just the next logical battle in a war that has been raging since our great grandparents’ generation.

I want to begin with words like: “Sadly, only a few people know enough about world history to understand how deeply the world’s most powerful economic and political forces are tied to the energy scene.”  Then I want to present about 25 pages of material — enough to make the point and prove the case, but not so much to burden the reader with more on the subject than he needs or wants to know.

To develop this passage, I’d sure like to interview Robert Newman, the British historian, social critic, and comedian.  As I wrote last year here, if our civilization has a chance here, it will be because people like him had insight into the truth, had the guts to tell it, and possessed the talent to do it in a way that people actually enjoy.

For those who may not be aware of Newman’s contributions, pour yourself a cup of coffee, or a glass of good wine (depending on the time of day), click on the link above and settle in for 45 minutes that I promise you’ll never forget. My advice: be braced to laugh through the tears; Newman is hilarious, but be prepared to learn about the realities of the history of oil, and their terrible consequences to our modern world.

And if you happen to know the guy personally, please send him my way.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Wind Energy

I try to follow some of the international news scene on renewables, as well as what’s happening (or not happening) here, domestically. The common thread to most of this is that a great deal of the rest of the world has long since stopped bickering about climate change, and is actively embracing substantive actions to deal with its realities.

Earlier today, the UK’s Committee on Climate Change reported that renewable energy should “make a major contribution to decarbonising the UK economy over the next decades. (They) conclude that a renewable energy share of around 30% by 2030 would be appropriate, with scope for a higher share (e.g. up to 45%) depending on the extent to which renewable technology costs fall and possible constraints on deployment of low-carbon alternatives.”

Rather than moaning and calling one another names, the UK seems excited about the 50,000 new jobs that will be created as they build out a huge commitment to offshore wind.  They seem strangely united behind a cause. Go figure.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Solar Thermal

Thanks to all those who wrote in commenting, or requesting more information on Ahura Energy, the folks with the claim to breakthrough CSP cost/efficiency. I should have mentioned that I’m under NDA re: the technology. And, though the company’s founder and I have talked in vague terms about the “secret sauce,” I’m still not 100% clear on it. I hope to see a demo later in the month, and I’ll certainly provide as much information as I can asap.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Hydrokinetics

What’s going on in the U.S. with Hydropower?  

The Departments of Energy (DOE) and the Interior announced this month, in April 2011, that $26.6 million in funding to advance hydropower technology has been designated. The studies will focus on innovative and efficient systems that reduce costs and increase renewable power generation at sites not previously considered. This fits in with finding solutions for the aggressive plan to meet 80% of U.S. energy by 2035.

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by craigshieldsPosted on Posted in Energy Storage

As a part of our recent discussion on energy storage, Larry Sobel wrote in, calling my attention to this fabulous lecture given by a brilliant and thoroughly entertaining chemistry professor at MIT, who calls upon his students to think differently and go against the grain with respect to developing solutions for grid-level energy storage. As the professor reminds us, storage is the key enabler for the deployment of renewables to make it to base load, as we need to address their intermittence.

The key point here in thinking differently is refusing to pay for attributes you don’t need, since cost is king here; batteries that were invested portable applications are not scaleable at cost; we cannot string together batteries that were invented for laptops, cell phones, or even electric vehicles. Cell phones need to be idiot proof, and to operate in a temperature range that is comfortable when held in one’s hand. Car batteries need to be crash-worthy.

But stationary batteries for utility scale storage need to have none of these characteristics. So what do you get when you throw away the attributes you don’t care about? I hope you’ll check out the lecture.

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